Let's Go To The Park

I am loving exploring the neighborhood we live in. One thing I am so excited about is the amount of parks near by. We have 7 parks that are within 3 miles of our home. That's a lot! And we've only explored one so far.

SummerLake Park is one of the closest parks near our home (and one of the biggest). It has a dog park, a real large play structure, open fields, and trails that surround the lake. Right now its fun taking Gretta and having her socialize with other dogs while walking the trails. I'm excited for later in life to take our future little ones. Its quite tranquil and not too busy. 

 

We're going to have fun exploring these different parks.What a blessing to have so many so close by!

A Marriage Celebration: In-Laws 30th

This past weekend Cory and I hosted a 30th Anniversary Party for his parents. It was fun, beautiful, and so sweet. It made us both so happy to see all the people that love his parents so much. Some of the guests have known Cory's parents for just about their entire marriage and other guests were friends they met along the way. It was pretty magical hearing about their marriage, hearing about how they inspire other married couples in their life, and just seeing how in love they still are.

I kept the decor pretty simple. 30th = Pearl Anniversary so I stuck with lots of whites and creams. 

I made the "All You Need Is Love" Banner a while ago in prep for this party.

For appetizers I went with Clam Dip and Stuffed Mushroom. We served my in-laws favorites of White Wine, Champagne, and Root Beer (along with some Arnold Palmer and Cory's Homemade brew).

We made them a little photo-story book of their marriage with dates and big events. It's a little snapshot in time of what their family looks like after 30 years of marriage. 

For dinner we had the below:



The whole evening was just so fun. Mike and Sally never had a first dance at their wedding, so we made time for one at this party. It was so cute seeing them dance their dance.

Some gifts were given and dessert was had by all.

Overall, it was a great night.

Thank you Mom and Dad for showing us what a Christ-centered marriage looks like. You two put love into action and are truly an inspiration for us newlyweds. We are so proud that we have parents who have stuck together throughout their marriage. To many, many more happy and healthy anniversaries.

Leah and Cory



Happy One Year To Us

"As God made Two of One, so now He makes One of Two."

The quote above regarding marriage is one of my all time favorites. It was one I had on the outside of our wedding planning journal. It reminds me of who the author of our marriage is and who we must rely on for the strength and patience needed to make our marriage thrive. This past weekend, one year ago, Cory and I vowed to love each other fiercly, and set the Lord first in our marriage. This weekend we celebrated our first year of marriage. 

We didn't plan anything over the top for this weekend, just a relaxed "let's do whatever we want" type of weekend. We started the morning drinking coffee, eating breakfast burritos (totally romantic) and exchanging some gifts. Then we packed up picnic supplies and headed south to one of our favorite riverside spots. 

One of my favorite part of the day was driving to the river. Cory used to live out in these back country roads when we were dating, and driving around was something we did on the regular back then. You can say we fell in love on these back roads. 

This place is just so tranquil. Has a spot for a boat ramp, lots of picnic benches, and a small enterance for the river via foot. It's never crowded which is why I like it best. We had planned to teach Gretta to swim. And you can say she was a little excited:

She was a natural! And it was adorable. 

After the river we headed home and took a family nap for 2 hours! It felt really nice. Then we got all dressed up and went to Twig Bistro and Martini Bar.

The said gifts I mentioned before included this little black dress. Yes, he went shopping and picked it out all his own!! I was so impressed. It's definitely my new favorite little black dress. 

We indulged in Butternutsquash/Bacon Flatbread, drinks such as a lemon drop, a Gin martini, a mojito, and a Kinky G. We just so happened to arrive at Twig during happy hour. So, our cheap ways got to the better of us and we ate off the happy hour menu. Still so good. However, we weren't completely satisfied after our meal, so we headed to one of our new favorite Thai food places in Tigard for a second dinner. (Yep that's how we roll) Totally overdressed we didn't care. We did exactly what we wanted this night and it was fun.

(This kid doesn't know how to make a goofy face - his default: serious) 

I sure do love the man I get to spend the rest of my life with. Our first year of marriage had a lot of big firsts in it. First time I moved out of the house, first house hunting/buying process, first dog owning...lots of big accomplishments. And, I can honestly say the one word to describe our first year would be : fun. Cory and I just seem to work well together. Yes there have been our little petty arguments, but nothing big. 

I thank God for the wonderful first year of marriage we have had. 

Cory you are the best partner in this life for me. And I will always choose to love you.

To many, many more years.